


Please, Brother, Be Okay?

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [104]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Ardyn Izunia Needs A Hug, But Ardyn doesn't understand he is doing it, Daemons, Daemons Are Evil To Ardyn, Descent into Madness, Family Feels, Gen, Good Brother Somnus Lucis Caelum, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insanity, Loss of Control, Love, M/M, Poor Ardyn Izunia, Protective Cor Leonis, Self-Harm, Set during Baby Caelum On Board, Support, Understanding, Violence, upset
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:29:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29889432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: (Set during Baby Caelum On Board during the time Ardyn loses control of himself)Somnus knew Ardyn shouldn’t have done that!He warned them! He warned both Regis and the Oracle and they failed to listen!Now, Ardyn was paying the price for it. His poor brother’s head was a mess, a complete state, and the Founder King had no idea how Ardyn could possibly pull through.
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia/Cor Leonis, Cor Leonis & Somnus Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum & Ardyn Izunia
Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [104]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1310333
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	Please, Brother, Be Okay?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IvaliceForever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvaliceForever/gifts).



> My inspiration for a lot of things has suddenly left me and I have been reading through old WIPS and suddenly stumbled upon this one and I have been working all afternoon/evening to finish it, just so I can get back into writing. I probably need a break but I have just had a week off of work and I know I have to keep my brain active at the moment. It needs to remain active so I will keep writing to achieve that. 
> 
> Anyway, this was meant to be uploaded after I finished Baby Caelum On Board for IvaliceForever (as their comment inspired me so) and like many fics it got pushed under the rug. So you can finally have it tonight. 
> 
> Warnings:  
> Self Harm - basically Ardyn not meaning to hurt himself but he can't control his actions at this point in time. 
> 
> This during the time Luna is pregnant with Seren and Ardyn's gone made after getting Solheim technology!!!
> 
> Please enjoy :)

January 3rd: 

Somnus knew Ardyn shouldn’t have done that! 

He warned them! He warned both Regis and the Oracle and they failed to listen! 

Now, Ardyn was paying the price for it. His poor brother’s head was a mess, a complete state, and the Founder King had no idea how Ardyn could possibly pull through.

Ardyn kept talking to himself, it wasn’t him it was the daemons but the things coming out of his mouth were horrific. He was begging and pleading with them to leave him alone and then his words turned into grunts and growls as if he were speaking in an daemonic language. From past experiences Somnus knew things were only about to get worse. And he was right, they did. Ardyn started pulling out his own hair and hitting his head against things to get the voices to stop. When anyone tried to stop him from hurting himself, Ardyn would scream at anyone who drew near, including Cor and Prompto. But the voices didn’t stop. Somnus didn’t know if they were going to either. It was becoming clear that his brother was being coerced by these evil monsters and very quickly he had become convinced that the daemons’ will was his calling all along. That he should feed into their dark ways and let them all loose because they were innocent creatures who just wanted to live! That was where Somnus drew the line and had him isolated within the Citadel to prevent anyone from getting hurt. That only did more damage than good. The lack of interaction with people led to Ardyn almost convincing himself that he had slaughtered Cor and Prompto in cold blood, despite Cor and Prompto being his only visitors! 

It was terrifying! 

Truly terrifying and Somnus could do nothing to help him! 

He had tried.

He really did. 

He tried his hardest to convince his brother that the man who was his husband was in fact his husband and he was alive and well, but to no avail. The Founder King actually ended up getting hurt and flung out of the window as Ardyn lost control of himself and got scared. Somnus didn’t care that his brother had done that. He just wanted him back. He wanted him to have his head on straight again. 

That was what he was hoping for today. 

It had been a month since Ardyn nearly went mad and Somnus was eagly - and dreading - a text from Cor to inform him of Ardyn’s current state of mind. 

He couldn’t keep still. 

He had walked up and down this bloody hallway more times than he could count, hitting his phone against his knuckles a few times before looking at it, and then putting it back in his pocket so he didn’t waste his battery. But as the minutes ticked on he became more impatient, he got out his phone and repeated the process again. 

He just wanted to know if Ardyn was okay… 

“My King.” Gilgamesh said, from where he had been standing for the last half an hour watching Somnus to make certain he was alright. “Perhaps you should sit down.” 

“Sitting down isn’t going to help my brother get better.” Somnus replied bluntly, still pacing. 

“Be that as it may, Leonis is trying his hardest. You exhausting yourself will not help anyone either.” Gilgamesh reminded him. 

“You think I care about anyone else right now?” Somnus scoffed, finally stopping in his tracks to face his shield. “Do you honestly think that anyone, other than maybe Prompto and Cor, deserve my attention for what is happening to my brother?” 

“The Young King and Oracle-”

“Should have listened to me!” Somnus snapped, venom seeping into his conviction. “He could kill everyone! That is on them!” 

“That isn’t fair and you know that.” Gilgamesh said calmly, not wanting to upset Somnus but right now someone had to be here to tell him the facts. “He would have done it himself anyway. The young one was right in what he told the Oracle. Ardyn would have done this on his own accord and we probably would all be dead if that was the case but we’re not.” 

“I don’t mean to be rude, Gilgamesh, but you haven’t been here. You don’t know how far Ardyn has come for all of it to disappear like that!” Somnus said, feeling warm tears slowly form in his eyes as he balled his free hand into a fist. 

Because this was the thing that was pissing him off the most. It was the thing that only him and Cor had picked up on - in this situation Prom was excused because Ardyn was always his best self around that boy - was that Ardyn had tried so damned hard to be good and fight the daemons off with everything he had. 

And this was his reward? Torture? Endless torture. 

“He may have just extended the lives of everyone on Eos out of the goodness of his own heart and he knew this would happen!” Somnus said, voice straining as he lost control of his emotions. “He knew that the daemons would take over if he got that technology and he did it anyway! He risked himself for them! Now, for one of the kindest things he has ever done in his immortal life he is suffering for it! HOW IS THAT FAIR!!!” 

A small tear fell then. 

Somnus didn’t want to allow anymore fall but his chest was beginning to hurt and his eyes were turning red as raw at the thought of Ardyn not even knowing who he was anymore. 

All Somnus wanted to do was wrap his arms around Ardyn and tell him that he was his big brother. That he was Cor’s husband and Prom’s father. Nothing else mattered as long as he remembered that. But he couldn’t because Ardyn wouldn’t allow anyone near him-

_Ping!_

Somnus jumped and instantly opened the text from Cor. 

He had to wipe his eyes vigorously to remove the hot tears just so the words on the screen weren’t blurry and he… he didn’t like what he was reading; 

_Cor:_ _He hasn’t improved today._

_Things got a little out of hand an hour ago but he is fine now._

_He didn’t mean to, he’s very confused and very scared and I was in the crossfire of it. But I am fine. I am not severely hurt and he’s not crying anymore which is a good thing._

_I am sorry that you can’t be here with him, but honestly Somnus, he’s that detached from himself right now and I think any break in routine will push him over the edge._

_Don’t worry Somnus. I’ll bring him back, I always do, it’s just gonna take time._

_We will get him back._

“Somnus?” Gilgamesh questioned. 

“He hurt Cor.” Somnus replied, a numb cold feeling running down his spine. “He’s hurt the love of his life. Tell me now that I shouldn’t put all my time and effort into my brother.”

Gilgamesh remained silent.

And that silence made Somnus cry. 

He just felt so helpless and useless and if Cor couldn’t help him… how where they ever meant to pull Ardyn back from the darkness of his own mind?

* * *

January 12th: 

“Hey, darling, Somnus has been asking after you.” 

Cor said lightly, kneeling in front of Ardyn who was twitching his head from side to side muttering words he couldn’t understand under his breath. It was breaking Cor seeing him like this. He just wanted it all to stop for his husband. 

“Somnus. Somnus. Somnus.” Ardyn repeated his brother's name, digging his nails into the palms of his hands. 

This didn’t go unnoticed by Cor. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop Ardyn from hurting himself this time, not if he wanted to risk getting the scourge and then really lose his husband for good. 

“Yes, Somnus. He wants to know if you are okay.” 

“Somnus. Somnus. Somnus.” Ardyn repeated again, this time he sounded out of breath. 

Cor breathed out slowly doing his best to keep it together. He had realised over this past month that the moment he became emotional so did Ardyn, and things took a turn for the worse. He had to be patient. He had to be calm. He had to keep a brave face for Ardyn. His husband needed to get better. 

Very slowly so he didn’t startle him, Cor placed his hand to Ardyn’s cheek and tried to make their eyes connect. “Ardyn? I love you.” 

“Cor…” Ardyn replied, his gold eyes blinking. 

“Yeah? I’m here, darling.” Cor said, a weak smile forming on his face but that smile soon faded when he realised what Ardyn actually meant. 

“Cor? I want Cor.” 

“I am Cor. I am your Cor.” 

Ardyn shook his head pulling away from his touch, acting as if he was fire. “No. I want Cor. I am scared and lost without him...”

Despite knowing the likely and immediate danger of his actions, Cor quickly rubbed his eyes to prevent the tears from forming, and placed both his hands on Ardyn’s face. His husband did recoil away to begin with, making his heart shatter into a million pieces. Cor was going to fucking slit Bahamut’s throat for forcing this on his poor husband’s head. 

“I know you’re scared. But I am Cor and I love you. And you’re not alone. I promise you’re not alone.” 

“I am…” Ardyn winced. “I don’t want to be… I want my husband.”

“I am here. I promise you I am here. I am not leaving you.” 

Cor didn’t get a reply to that. Instead, he got tears. Ardyn started to silently sob into his hands repeating over and again he only wanted him because only he could make it better. But no matter how hard Cor tried Ardyn refused to believe he was him. 

* * *

January 16th:

It was now Prom’s turn to try and get through to his dad, leaving Somnus and Cor to have a few moments to chat about Ardyn. And from how quiet Cor was being Somnus could only guess Ardyn had gotten worse since his last update. 

“He’s gone back into not knowing who I am.” Cor said plainly. 

“Fuck.” 

Was all Somnus could say to that. 

That must hurt. It must be tearing Cor apart from the inside out but his brother-in-law was good at hiding his emotions when he really wanted too. Somnus knew for certain he was one of the last people Cor would cry in front of. But it was good to cry. No one would hold it against him. 

“It’s horrible seeing him like this. Trust me, Somnus, you are better off staying away from him. He doesn’t even know who Regis is. I asked him if he wanted him and Ardyn said; ‘I don’t have a nephew called Regis.’ And I don’t know what to do.” Cor admitted, taking a pause so his voice wouldn’t break. “I don’t know how to help him if he doesn’t know who I am.” 

“I don’t know either. The only alternative I can think of is sending him to Angelgard and we are not doing that.” Somnus said, trying to remain calm as the council had the audacity to suggest that to him today. He nearly set the fuckers alight. 

“No we are not. He needs to be with his family. But he doesn’t remember what any of us look like. It… it really hurts.” 

“I know it does.” 

There was nothing more to say between them; they just sat in silence for an hour. 

Somnus wished he could give Cor an answer. He wished there was a magic word to shake Ardyn out of this horrific mindset but there never had been. Somnus always let Ardyn fester by himself in Angelgard and when Cor came along his brother got better, not once did Somnus imagine that Cor couldn’t save his brother. 

Right now Cor saving Ardyn from his head was about as likely as seeing the dawn rise in the morning. 

Things were bleak and to Somnus, it was becoming clearer to him that only Ardyn could get himself out of hell. He prayed for the sake of everyone that he could do it. 

* * *

January 29th: 

Ardyn closed his eyes, his back up against the wall as the continuous pain of the daemons inflicted his body never once letting up. Never once giving him a break. They were constantly screaming at him. Speaking to him. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t think. He was trapped, barely able to breathe or control his actions anymore. He wanted it to stop! He wanted it all to stop! 

_That’s not Prom._

_You killed Prom remember?_

_And Cor._

_And Somnus._

**_No, I didn’t…._ **

_No one loves you._

_They want to put you back on Angelgard after you saved them all!_

_How evil of them!_

_But they are all the same..._

_They all fear you._

**_No, you are scared of yourself._ **

_You should give up._

**_Don’t give up. You need to get back to them! To Cor and Prompto! They need you!_ **

_You have to kill Noctis anyway, giving into it would be beneficial._

_At least that way everyone would know you really are a monster._

_A monster who only wants to destroy and let us play in the night!_

_Please let us play._

_Let’s face it without us you are nothing! Nothing but a man with his head full of dreams!_

“No.” 

Ardyn said out loud, eyes still glowing yellow and burning like the sun. 

“Huh, dad?” 

Ardyn slowly looked up and saw Prompto in front of him. That was Prompto wasn’t it? His son… and his baby looked worried. Why did he look worried? But he didn’t have time to dwell on that. The daemons voices started to become louder again, whispering that sentence over and over again. 

_You are nothing._

_You are nothing._

_You are nothing._

“I am not nothing. I have never been nothing.” Ardyn said shaking his head, doing his best to fight them off with all he had. Their voices… their horrible voices kept flooding his thoughts and putting him down, remaining persistent in their claim that he was nothing! 

“You’re right dad! You are everything to me! You’re my dad and I love you!” 

_You’re not his dad!_

_He’s a clone!_

_He’s lying to you!_

_He can’t be Prompto!_

_We love Prompto! That is not Prompto!_

_He is nothing just like you!_

_It’s just a clone!_

“NO!”

Truly incensed, Ardyn growled at the daemons. They were wrong! He would recognise his baby boy anywhere, wouldn’t he? Surely he would… he’d know the boy that filled his heart with sunlight whenever he sang that stupid chocobo song! Or when he gave him a hug to make the pain go away. He’d know the difference between his son and a clone… 

_But what if you’re wrong?!_

_Because you are!_

_That’s not our Sunbeam!_

Ardyn pushed himself away from the wall with all his strength, staggering towards his son. 

_It’s not Prompto!_

“Stop lying to me!” He snarled, grabbing for Prompto’s wrist. 

Prompto’s breath stuttered, his eyes went wide, but Ardyn ignored it all. He had to know, he had to be sure… 

“Dad!!” Prompto yelled, glancing back towards the door as Ardyn reached him. 

Ardyn easily held Prompto in place with one hand on his shoulder, while the other forced his wrist over to his line of vision so Ardyn could see the-

_It’s not Prompto! It can’t be Promp-_

-scars.

Ardyn had never been more relieved to see the faint white scars left behind from his son’s struggles… they were there… and that meant this was Prompto. 

“Dada?” 

Ardyn slowly shifted his gaze from Prom’s wrist to his face and his son looked terrified. Ardyn could hear Prom’s heart beating. He could see his chest moving up and down so fast and he could feel him shake in his hold. When his child spoke… he sounded so scared…

“Dada, I know you won’t hurt me. Please let me go?” 

“Hurt you?” Ardyn questioned and then suddenly realised his hand was still pressing against Prom’s shoulder and the hold on his son’s wrist was anything but gentle. 

Ardyn instantly dropped Prom and his son fell to the floor with a thud. 

“Prom… I am sorry.” Ardyn cried, taking a step away from him, looking down at his hands in disgust. “I didn’t want to… I just needed to know if you were real…”

“Prom! Come here!” 

Eyes stinging in fear, Ardyn followed Prom’s movements as he got to his feet and ran back towards the door to see Cor standing there. 

Cor… was that him? Was that really him?

_No that’s not him!_

_Cor’s dead remember!_

“No he’s not…” Ardyn whispered, slowly getting on his knees, knowing that if he was about to lose it he’d give Cor and Prom at least a second’s head start to slam the door on his face before he got violent again. 

_Do you think any amount of time could contain you?_

_You are going to hurt them! You know that! So why bother fighting?_

_Why bother indeed._

_This always happens. You lose control and someone dies. This time you are going to lose your entire family over it!_

“NO I’M NOT!!!” 

Ardyn roared, grabbing his head and colliding it with the floor as hard as he could. 

The daemons were now begging for Prom’s and Cor’s death and Ardyn was never going to give that to them. No matter how much they hurt his head. No matter how much torture they were making him think by saying Cor didn’t love him or want him, or that Somnus wanted to put him back on that awful rock, or that Prom was scared of him, Ardyn had to use his last speck of humanity to fight them off. 

He had to fight them off! 

“I AM STRONGER THAN YOU! AND I AM NOT LOSING TO YOU ANYMORE!” 

He heard the door slam and that was when Ardyn knew he was alone. 

He was fine with that. 

Because he just stopped himself. He just stopped himself from committing one of his biggest fears and he didn’t let them win. 

He won. 

And he was never losing to these monsters again. 

Not ever.

* * *

February 1st: 

"I am not scared." Ardyn told himself as he stared at the broken wall in front of him. "I am not scared. I can win. I am not scared." 

"You don't have to be scared." Cor said, petting Ardyn's hair gently. "I am here." 

"I am not scared." Ardyn repeated out loud. "I have my husband. I have my son. I have my brother. I am not scared." 


End file.
